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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
Sport
Renee Valentine

Who will win: NPLW NNSW grand final preview

Adriana Konjarski has scored a whopping 39 goals this year.

Only twice has she not found the back of the net in 22 games for NPLW Northern NSW premiers Warners Bay.

The 26-year-old will be key as the Panthers attempt to end a six-year championship drought at No.2 Sportsground on Sunday when they battle fourth-placed Newcastle Olympic in the grand final.

But the competition's leading scorer is feeling no pressure whatsoever to perform and that has a lot to do with the also-firing players around her.

Newcastle Jets trio Tara Andrews (26), Cassidy Davis (23) and Lauren Allan (17) have produced more than their fair share of goals, as has Panthers captain Elodie Dagg (17).

In all, Warners Bay have scored 128 goals for an average of almost six per game.

"It's great because there's no amount of pressure on one player, which helps," Konjarski said.

"You're not going out on that field thinking, 'I've got to score today'. It's just flowing and it's just happening for all of us.

"Someone's going to score and someone can score. As long as we're playing together as a team, we'll score goals. It doesn't matter who it's coming from, it's going to come from someone in the team."

Olympic have relied more heavily on one player for the bulk of theirs - Jemma House has scored 20 goals in 15 appearances. The A-League Women's striker missed the first round of competition with a broken tibia.

While Warners Bay have overwhelmed teams with their potent attack and have not lost a game in their past 13, Olympic have scrapped to make their second grand final.

They beat the Panthers 3-2 in the 2020 decider - the last time finals were held. Last year's finals series was abandoned due to COVID.

Through sheer determination, grit and belief, Olympic beat Charlestown (3-2) then Broadmeadow (3-1) in sudden death finals for another shot at the title.

"We've got a huge amount of momentum, but it hasn't been easy," Olympic captain Laura Hall said. "But that's a good thing and we're not taking it for granted.

"There were probably a few moments where we wavered throughout the season, but it's such a strong club with so much passion.

"It's not just you that you want to win for. There is a committee and a huge Olympic family that care about our results. It's added pressure but it's added responsibility."

Olympic were the last team to beat Warners Bay, taking a 4-2 win in round 10 on May 28.

It will be Warners Bay's fifth. They beat Wallsend 1-0 in 2016 then lost in 2017, 2018 and 2020.

The match kicks off at 5pm.

The lower-grade grand finals are being played at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Saturday from 9am.

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